Danielle Russo Bennetts

Danielle Russo Bennetts is a First Assistant Attorney General with the Michigan Department of Attorney General, supervising the Criminal Trial Division’s Victim’s Rights Section, which handles the division’s special victim’s cases. She has been with the department since 2019. She prosecutes cases of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and homicides, and supervises the division’s prosecution of human trafficking cases. She directs investigations into these cases, participates in Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings, consults with and provide technical assistance to prosecutors across the state on sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and homicide crimes, including the prosecution of no-body cases. Ms. Russo Bennetts has assigned to the department’s Catholic Church clergy abuse investigation, the Boy Scouts of America investigation, the Murdered or Missing Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Task Force, and the Native American Boarding School Project. She additionally participates as an expert trainer for the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM), sharing her experience, knowledge, and passion with other prosecutors and law enforcement across the state.

She has a wide variety of experience in prosecution, criminal law, training, management, and advocacy for victims of crimes. Prior to joining the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, Ms. Russo Bennetts served as the Director of the Violence Against Women Project, for the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM), training prosecutors across the state in the areas of sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking cases. And prior to that, Ms. Russo Bennetts spent almost 15 years with the Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (WCPO) in Detroit, Michigan.  At the time of her departure from the WCPO, she served as the supervising Lead Attorney of the Sexual Assault Team (SAT), managing a team of assistant prosecutors, while also vertically prosecuting cases involving crimes of Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking, and Homicide. Ms. Russo Bennetts began her career with the WCPO in the Domestic Violence Unit, prosecuting both felony and misdemeanor cases, while working in conjunction with the Detroit Police Department Domestic Violence Task Force. Additionally, she has extensive felony trial experience, prosecuting all types of criminal cases, as well years of experience making charging decisions on warrants, and handling preliminary examinations in various district courts. She has handled many high profile, criminal cases, along with complex, multiple-defendant cases, cold case homicide, and cases involving serial offenders of sexual assault. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and her dogs.